Experts: Mass killer Breivik delusional personality disorder?

Experts: Mass killer Breivik likely not insane or delusional, could have personality disorder http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/experts-mass-killer-breivik-likely-not-insane-or-delusional-could-have-personality-disorder/2012/04/26/gIQA2MqLjT_story.html

Dissociative disorders

Dissociative disorders come about as mental defenses against extremely traumatic events, usually from an individual’s childhood. Although the effects are serious, treatment is also effective.

What is a dissociative disorder and how is it treated?

The first thing that must be understood when speaking of dissociative disorder within the realm of psychology, or any disorder for that matter, is that there are two main classes of abnormal behaviors in psychological terms. There are the personality disorders, such as anxiety disorder, phobias, and dissociative disorder, and then there are the more serious conditions, most common of which is schizophrenia. The main distinction between the two classes is that disorders are less severe and the individual can still function within society even with the disorder.

That said, dissociative disorder actually refers to a small family of disorders in which the individual dissociates himself from reality in an effort to cope with severe times of stress. The individual then dissociates himself partially from reality itself as a way to avoid having to face a harsh situation while still preserving normal function. This can express itself in various ways, but the most well known is that of DID, dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder (which, incidentally, is frequently mistakenly known by the general public as schizophrenia). In all dissociative disorders, the individual creates another conscious “realm” within their own mind in which a traumatic situation is dealt with, separate from that conscious with which they handle everyday situations. This is essentially a self-defense mechanism that allows them to live day-by-day without having to think about the particular problem in their life.

Of course, this mechanism only comes about in extreme situations of extreme trauma, usually something that is recurrent in a time when the individual is not mature enough to handle something psychological. As these conditions imply, for individuals who have dissociative disorders, the events that trigger them are usually painful and extremely traumatic situations from their childhood. The child, when faced with a difficult situation, may instead choose to let “someone else” deal with it, thereby bypassing any emotional problems involved with it. However, if this is a recurring problem, the child may fall easier and easier into this other personality, and at the same time it may be done in response to less and less acute stresses. The end result is that the other identity becomes a reflex that is evoked in response to simple, general times of stress. It is in these repeated instances of trauma and response to that trauma that “identities” can come about. In most cases, these cases of dissociative disorders involve repeated sexual abuse during an individual’s childhood.
However, not only is the trauma usually repetitive and extremely harsh and painful, dissociative disorder-causing trauma also usually comes during a very sensitive time of childhood, in most cases before the age of nine.

One particular symptom of dissociative identity disorder that occurs because of the nature of the mechanism itself is that the individual’s “base” identity, the one that he uses in everyday life, also has no memory of the trauma itself. The point of creating another identity is that that identity and that identity alone recollects the event or events from the individual’s past. Logically, dissociative disorders are treated through very individualized and very personal therapy that is aimed at making the individual’s main personality recall and face the trauma that has caused their other identities. It is usually very long, intensive, and always painful, but nevertheless it is also very responsive to therapy and is extremely treatable. Treatment and diagnosis should both be sought after from trained professionals, as is the case with any problem, be it mental or otherwise.

PERSONALITY DISORDER IN FORENSIC SETTINGS  Friday 25th May Workshop in Stirling, Scotland

http://forensicpsychotherapy.com/events/3-treatment-of-personality-disorder-in-forensic-settings/event-details